Coimbatore

Water bodies full, flood alert in Coimbatore, Nilgiris

Coimbatore : With pounding Southwest monsoon for the last four days, almost all the water bodies in Coimbatore and neighbouring Nilgiris district are brimming to full, forcing the administration to alert the people living on river banks to move to safer places.

Nilgiris district is bearing the brunt of nature’s fury and the administration is in preparedness to meet any situation, keeping all the departments, including electricity board, PWD, telecommunications on alert and help people move to safer places.

Already the administration has opened 16 camps, where 484 persons belonging 111 families were sheltered, even as all the 16 dams are brimming to full, official sources said.

Water entered into nearly 600 houses in Gudalur and Pandalur areas.

Surplus water was released from Kundah and Pykara dams, which may result in flooding in nearby areas of Masinagudi and Tengumarada, they said.

As a preventive measure, people living on the banks of river and low lying areas were asked to shift to safer places.The departments are asked to get ready with hacksaws to cut trees falling on roads, they said.

Avalanche, a major tourist attraction in the district, received a record 82 cm rainfall on Wednesday, a new record for highest rainfall in a single day during the monsoon.

Education institutions in Gudalur, Pandalur and Kundah taluk were closed for the last four days due to the weather.

With the monsoon very active in Western Ghats, Coimbatore is also receiving incessant rain, leaving the administration to sound flood alert to the people on the banks of the Bhavani and the Noyyal rivers.

As Pilloor dam also almost crossed its capacity, surplus water of nearly 30,000 cusecs is being released to the Bhavani, forcing people in the low lying areas and bank to move to safer places.

Mettupalayam tahsildar Shanthamani and officials visited the river banks.

Meanwhile, the Noyyal, passing through Coimbatore city was also full and people were asked to not to venture into the river.